


Arranged Chaos

by mirechan



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, Bitch ass Sasuke, Drunk Sex, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Itachi drinks respecc women juice, Marriage and Politics, NSFW, No Uchiha Massacre, Slow Burn, Smut, Uchiha Brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-06 05:27:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15879474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirechan/pseuds/mirechan
Summary: Sakura and Sasuke are finally starting a relationship- in secret. But their families have a different idea: an arranged marriage with Itachi, who is climbing the ranks of the Konoha Police Force. Can Sakura abandon her childhood love, the only object of her affection? Can Itachi betray his brother for his ambition to save the Uchihas and the Konoha Police?





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Naruto fanfiction and I'm so excited to be writing it! I've always loved Itachi and Sakura so this is my attempt at filling that gap in the fandom. I truly hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> -Mire <3

Sakura’s eyes slowly ran over the white mountain in front of her, covered in small iridescent pebbles. She had busied herself by finding patterns in them, like trying to see constellations. When she finally started to shiver from the cold, she realized how long she had been soaking in her bathtub, distracted by the foamy creation in front of her. After exhaling a long sigh, she let the water drain and stood to get dressed, popping her knees from curling up in the tub for so long.

A double date was supposed to be exciting-- the unexpected but welcome invitation from Hinata was good for getting Sakura out of her exhausting routine at the Konoha Hospital. But somehow she found herself worried about it.

Spending time with Sasuke was always appealing, but whenever they were around other couples Sakura couldn’t help but compare her relationship to others. She knew Sasuke wasn’t really the type to be publicly affectionate, and she’d been reminded of that plenty of times, but sometimes she wished he would do more than a very occasional small gesture while they were out-- show everyone that she was his and he was hers.

As she pulled on a skirt and a red tank top, she thought about those small moments and then chided herself for being ungrateful. They had worked hard to make their relationship work, and it was finally at a good place after the years of struggle she went through.

She was about to do a very couple-y activity with their couple-y friends. Even Sasuke had hinted that he had been looking forward to it. A light tap on her window sounded just as she finished neatly parting her shoulder-length hair down the middle.

“Come in,” she called, a smile tugging on her lips. She checked her reflection in the mirror once more and turned to step out of her bathroom. The lights were off in her bedroom, with only the moon shining through the window. Sasuke casually stood by her bed in his usual dark clothing and a neutral expression on his face.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, his eyes running over her outfit.

“Mm-hm.” Sakura walked over to retrieve her bag from where she had thrown it onto the bed. She slung it over her shoulders and tentatively went to peck him on the cheek. “Let’s go,” she said, tugging on his hand.

“Hmm… not yet. There’s still something you need to do,” he said, staying in place. Slightly irritated, she turned around and was about to ask what he meant by that when he turned his wrist around and pulled her to him.

He stared straight at her as he let a finger wander over her cheek and down the side of her face. His hands were warm, and she closed her eyes and leaned into him.

Her hands wound up to encircle his waist and she looked at him again to find his face had moved very close to hers. He brought an arm up to hold her face as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Blood rushed to her ears, like it had every time before, as she enthusiastically responded. The kiss ended before she had gone much farther.

“Mmm, tell me, when did you get that strawberry-flavored stuff? Haven’t tasted this before” he said, running his tongue over his lower lip. Shocked, Sakura started to stutter while trying to answer his question. 

“I… um, I saw Ino getting one and she told me that… I should get one too because you would like it,” she said. Sasuke blankly stared back at her, like he was only halfway listening.

“Oh. Well you should wear it more often then. Anyways, let’s just go before Naruto comes barging in to find us.” He quickly turned on his heel and started walking back out towards the window, leaving Sakura behind. She took a second to collect herself and pick up her dropped bag before lightly jumping down her balcony to where Sasuke stood waiting.

Their walk to the restaurant was quiet but comfortable. Sakura was used to his silence, and she actually appreciated it. It was a brief respite from her hectic day in the hospital.

As they approached the okonomiyaki restaurant, they spotted Naruto and Hinata waiting for them outside the entrance. Sakura didn’t fail to notice that they were holding hands as they each waved with their other arm.

Their booth was filled with chatter while the okonomiyaki were cooking on the small grill in front of them. When it came time to flip, Naruto was the only one who messed it up, and he apologetically looked at Hinata as he asked her to fix it for him. She happily did so, but not without sparking a pang of jealousy in Sakura at how easy their relationship seemed to be.

She and Sasuke had not directly talked to each other much during the conversation, and their only interaction had been passing each other food. 'This is fine, though,' she thought, 'we’re not here by ourselves. Stop worrying about it so much and enjoy the moment.'

Her chopsticks grabbed her food with a little more force than necessary, and she looked up to listen to Naruto recount his most recent mission with what was most certainly a bit of exaggeration. She glanced at Sasuke and watched his amused expression at listening to his friend chatter.

He interrupted Naruto to comment a few times on some of the less-wise things he had done on the mission. Sakura was glad that Sasuke had this friendship-- he had never seemed to be close to many people, not even his doting older brother Itachi.

Sasuke’s eyes flashed over to Sakura for a moment like he was going to say something to her, but he turned away and continued with his conversation. Sakura turned back to her food when she suddenly felt his hand brush her leg under the table. She tried to act like she hadn’t noticed, but she knew Sasuke was watching her reaction. 

Sakura nonchalantly reached over the table to grab some more seaweed flakes for her dish. Her concentration was so focused on keeping a neutral expression that she almost missed Hinata’s question.

“Has Tsunade-sama been giving you longer shifts lately, Sakura-chan? I hardly ever see you around anymore,” asked Hinata.

“Uh- yeah. Summer time usually brings more emergencies into the hospital, so they’ve been needing more staff on hand. I’m happy to help though, I like working there,” she replied. The shaky breath she let out after her response made Hinata stare at her for just a moment longer than she needed to before looking back down at her plate.

“Oh, then I’m glad you’re enjoying your work, Sakura-chan,” said Hinata with a small smile.

The rest of the date went by much the same, with Sakura trying to focus on talking while Sasuke occasionally distracted her mid-sentence. She almost wanted to berate him for acting like this in front of their friends, but she was having too much fun acting like she wasn’t affected by his touch. 

The four of them stayed until the restaurant had cleared out and it had become much quieter inside. Once the cleaning staff had started giving pointed looks to the group of teenagers at the last table, the two couples parted ways outside the restaurant and started walking in opposite directions.

Sakura looked back at them as she walked and saw Naruto lean down to say something to Hinata, causing her to giggle and look up at him. Naruto gave his cheeky grin and reached his hand up to his hair, satisfied with Hinata’s reaction to whatever he said. She turned back to Sasuke and smiled, happy for her friends.

They continued walking until they got to a place where they would have to split up to get home, but they stopped by a nearby street light. There was no one around, as it had gotten late and the villagers were tucked away in their homes. Sakura looked at Sasuke, communicating to him that she wanted to stay with him just a while longer. 

“Do you want to go to the park?” asked Sasuke. “I don’t want to go home to face a bunch of questions right now.” His annoyed expression told her all that she needed to know about his unwillingness to share the details of his life with anyone, including his brother. 

“Yeah, let’s go,” said Sakura. The two lazily wandered through Konoha’s streets and Sakura reached for his hand as they walked. He only resisted for a moment but let her take it since there was no one around to see. Soon they reached the small park that was set on a hill overlooking a nearby creek. The sky was clear and the moon still shone brightly down onto the dewy grass. There was a slight breeze but it felt nice, especially after the unusually warm day.

Sasuke led her over to a spot under the playground set’s ladders and climbing walls and they both took a brief look around their surroundings, making sure no one would be able to see the two 20-year-olds in a children's' park. Sakura softly placed her lips on Sasuke’s and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and she responded by caressing him back, tasting her own strawberry lips. 

“Sakura…” he urged, pushing her up against the corner and caging her in with his arms. He leaned down to hover over her neck, licking the dip in her collarbone. His hand went to her side and pulled up the edge of her tank top to reach her soft skin underneath. He started to harshly suck on her favorite spot on her neck, eliciting a quiet moan from Sakura. He pressed his hips forward, revealing the extent of his arousal, and her hand went down to rub the growing bulge between his legs. 

The second he asked to come to the park she knew what he was planning. This was a favorite late-night spot of theirs. Though Sasuke never showed affection while they were around other people, he certainly wasn’t opposed to these escapades.

“Me too,” whispered Sakura, guiding one of his hands down to the bottom edge of her black leather skirt. 'How convenient,' she mused for a moment.

He roughly hiked her skirt up and pushed her soaked panties to the side, running his middle finger along her already dripping folds. 

“Hmm… I must have gotten you excited in the restaurant,” murmured Sasuke, “you’re so ready for me to take you right now, aren’t you?” He teased her entrance with two fingers, pushing just the tips in and then slowly removing them. Sakura wanted to speed up the process.

She unzipped his pants and wrapped her hand around him without hesitation. With each stroke he grew even harder and his breathing grew harsher. He removed his hand from her and went to grab her face with both hands, teeth clacking hers as he roughly kissed her. Sakura’s hand started to move faster and soon she felt a drip of pre-cum that she spread around as lubrication.

“I want to be inside your mouth,” Sasuke whispered in her ear. He lightly took her earlobe between his teeth and tugged, causing her breath to hitch. Sakura turned Sasuke around so that his back was against the wall and she tugged his pants down a little farther as she went to her knees.

She put one hand on each side of his hips and rolled her tongue around the head, causing Sasuke to sharply inhale and reach for her hair. She wrapped her lips around the tip and started to suck as she continued swirling her tongue around, mixing her saliva with the beads dripping from his head. 

Sasuke’s hands went tight in her hair and he tried to move her head forward to take more of him. Her tongue harshly ran along the underside of his cock, and Sasuke let out a strained grunt. She knew she could make him feel like electricity was running through his body if she moved in just the right way.

Slowly she took the rest of him down, inching forward until he touched the back of her throat. He groaned at the feeling of being completely covered by her warmth and started rocking his hips back and forth, desperate for more friction. She hummed around him and he started moaning with each thrust, going faster, desperately wanting to feel her soft mouth enclosing around him. Sakura reached down with one of her hands to circle a finger around her clit while the other pumped around the base of his cock. 

The sound of both of their voices and the lewd wet sounds were all that could be heard, but neither of them cared. She took him a little further and then swallowed around him, causing Sasuke’s legs to almost spasm from pleasure.

“Oh, shit….” said Sasuke, stilling his hips and twitching inside Sakura’s mouth. He exhaled loudly as he came, filling her throat with his warm seed in spurts. Sakura still hadn’t gotten to the edge of orgasm but she released him from her mouth and stood.

“Sasuke… please,” she begged. She ground her hips against his, wanting release at his hand instead of having to finish herself off. He wrapped one arm around her waist and reached down, wasting no time in thrusting two fingers in and out while circling his thumb around her clit. Sakura gasped, suddenly overwhelmed with sensation. Her legs started shaking as she got closer and closer. 

She wanted to go slower, but Sasuke just wanted her to finish as quickly as possible-- it was almost like a chore for him to do this for her. His movements were quick, expert, but not very enthusiastic since he felt like the moment was over now that he had finished already. 

Her breath quickened as she got closer and Sasuke had to support her more with his other arm as she lost control of her legs. She tried to hold herself up as best she could to not bother him, worrying that he might stop. Sometimes he would pause and ask if she had finished, sounding almost annoyed, but she didn’t want that to happen this time. Sakura tried to push those thoughts out as she focused on her present situation with Sasuke-- that he was there, and they were enjoying each other… that he had even found it within him to help her finish. She pulsed around his fingers as he continued to stroke her favorite spot inside with a rhythm that he knew would finish her. 

Her arms tightened around his neck and her hips ground into him as she was overcome with pleasure. To avoid anyone hearing her, she had to muffle her cry into his shoulder as she went through the final wave of her orgasm. He kept his fingers inside her and she tightly contracted around him. She crumpled into his arms for a moment, catching her breath.

“Thank you, Sasuke-kun,” said Sakura against his neck. She left a feather-light trail of kisses up to his cheek. Gingerly setting her down, he held her possessively against his chest. Sakura breathed in the scent of his shirt, burying this memory into her mind. Every moment with him was precious, especially rare times like these where he would stay with her after an intimate moment. They stood there for a while in each other’s arms, listening to the breeze rustle through the trees. 

They untangled themselves from each other and adjusted their clothing as soon as they heard someone approaching the park. It was quiet, but they easily sensed whoever was coming and watched the direction that the sound came from. Sakura prayed that it wasn’t a child. 

Itachi walked out of the tree line and into the grass field beside the park. 'Thank god he didn’t arrive earlier,' thought Sakura, sweeping a few strands of hair out of her face as he approached them.

“Rokudaime-sama has a mission for you, Sasuke. You are to report to his office as soon as possible,” he said. He nodded to Sakura in acknowledgement and she gave him a tense smile, hoping he didn’t know what they had just done.

“Who else did he call?” asked Sasuke.

“I’m not sure. He came to me as I was passing by and asked me to send for you,” replied Itachi.

“Maybe you could have come with if you hadn’t chosen to waste your time inside the walls of the village,” said Sasuke, taking the opportunity to once again berate Itachi for being in the Konoha Military Police Force. Sakura was struck by the way in which he addressed his older brother. He suddenly turned to run in the direction of the Hokage’s office.

“Be careful,” called Sakura, watching him go. He didn’t reply, but she saw him curtly nod without turning towards her. She was suddenly left standing awkwardly with Itachi.

“How was your date, Sakura-chan?” asked Itachi, breaking the silence. If he knew what they had been up to in the park, he didn't seem to let on that he did. Sakura blushed and was grateful for the darkness.

“It was fine… the food was good. You should try it sometime, Itachi-san.” she said.

“Maybe the three of us could go another day,” suggested Itachi.

“Yeah,” trailed Sakura, trying to think of an excuse to go while the awkward silence kept building. “Well, I guess it’s getting late now… are you going back home?” she asked.

“Yes, I was on my way home earlier. I can walk you back though, so you won’t be alone,” he offered.

Itachi, though usually not one for idle conversation, chatted with Sakura for a bit as they walked back to Sakura’s house. They talked about their work, and Itachi mentioned that he’d been busier lately since there had been talk of him being promoted to Captain of the force.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Itachi-san! I’m sure your parents are very proud,” Sakura congratulated. Itachi gave a tight smile.

“Yes, they are. Sasuke thinks I’m wasting my time though. He said I would have been more useful if I had chosen to stay on missions outside of Konoha,” said Itachi disappointedly.

“He’ll come around eventually, I hope. But don’t let it get in the way of what you want to do. It could just be some sibling rivalry stuff… not that I would understand that I guess,” Sakura admitted. Itachi chuckled.

“I suppose so. It’s not going to change my decision, but I hope he realizes just how important it is to me. I protect and serve the village just like he does, just in a different way. I prefer to protect those closer to home to avoid internal conflict, and Sasuke deals with external conflict. Both sides are needed,” stated Itachi. Sakura marveled at Itachi’s determination.

“I’m glad you’re so sure of your decision. I wish I was more like that." Her step faltered a bit as she realized what she had just said.

“What do you mean?” asked Itachi. They were nearing Sakura’s house now, passing the last street light on their path. Sakura continued up to the gate in front of her house and turned to face him.

“Oh, just in general, you know?” she said quickly. Itachi halfheartedly nodded with a slightly confused face. “Well, thank you for walking me home. Good night, Itachi-san.”

“You’re welcome, Sakura-chan. It was nice to talk to you. Good night,” said Itachi. He suddenly leaped upward onto her neighbor’s roof and silently made his way home. Sakura stood outside for a moment before going inside.  
●●●●●●  
Sakura loved being in the Yamanakas’ flower shop. The clear windows displayed a wide variety of flowers in every shade from white and pink to deep red and purple. Sometimes on her days off she would come to help Ino open in the morning, restocking and arranging bouquets in rows for the customers. It was relaxing for the two girls to chat intermittently and spend some time in comfortable silence, allowing Sakura to clear her head. 

“So… yesterday! How was it?” asked Ino with bright eyes as she swept behind the register. “Did Sasuke take you to the park?” she added, a smirk turning up her cheeks.

“It was great! I wish you could have come… When will Sai be back?” Sakura blushed and diverted the topic away from Ino’s second question. Ino rolled her eyes.

“Hopefully by Wednesday. It’s reconnaissance so I’m not exactly sure,” she said quickly, “but you still have to fill in a few details, miss.” Sakura sighed and tied a ribbon around one last bouquet.

“Well… we did go…” admitted Sakura, earning a smug look from Ino, “but then Itachi showed up.”

“No! Did he see you guys? Oh my gosh, I would have died from embarrassment! How did Sasuke react?” asked Ino, practically yelling. 

“No, he didn’t see us-- he just came to tell Sasuke he had to leave for a mission. I don’t know what it was for; I could ask Tsunade-sama later.”

“Oh,” said Ino, sounding a little disappointed. They continued to work in relative quiet until it was time to open the shop. Sakura lounged around in the back of the store, gazing at some of her favorite flowers in the attached greenhouse, when she heard Ino’s voice go up as she was talking to a customer.

“So what are you looking for, Itachi-san? Maybe something like this?” asked Ino. Sakura inched forward to peek into the shop and saw Itachi considering the product Ino was holding. His hand ran over his chin, revealing his tanned, muscular arms underneath his rolled up sleeve. He was wearing a Konoha Police uniform, which looked similar to the shinobi uniform but had a vest with the police force symbol on the front and back. Sakura stayed behind to watch instead of going out to greet him.

“I think my mother would like the yellow ones instead, Ino-chan,” he said, turning to grab a big bouquet beside him. 

“Oh, what’s the occasion?” asked Ino as they both walked up to the register. 

“It’s her birthday today; yellow is her favorite color. Hopefully Sasuke will be back home tonight for dinner. I’m making something special for everyone,” he replied. 

Sakura blinked, surprised that she didn’t know about her boyfriend’s mother’s birthday. How could she not have known? Why didn’t Sasuke tell her? 

“Well, tell her I said happy birthday, Captain Itachi,” said Ino.

“What are you talking about? How did you know about that?” asked Itachi, slightly flustered.

“Sakura told me earlier today. Here you go,” she said, handing him the wrapped bouquet.

Sakura waited for Itachi to leave the store so she wouldn’t embarrass herself at not knowing it was his mother’s birthday. As soon as the door closed, she rushed back into the store and tried to think of what to do. Did Sasuke not want me to come? Wait, this is a family event, why would I be there? 

“Sakura… you’ve got a crazy look in your eyes. Did something else happen while Itachi was there last night?” asked Ino.

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just-- I had no idea it was her birthday today. I have to get her something.” 

“You can take something from here! I won’t charge you for it,” said Ino. 

“Oh, you’re a lifesaver Ino!” said Sakura.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all the chapters are going to have NSFW scenes (sorry to some of you lmao), I’m just setting up some necessary background for Sakura and Sasuke since I think it’s important to see this dynamic in their relationship.

An earth-shattering boom erupted from the center of the training field, electrifying the air around it. Naruto’s clones all puffed out of existence, and Sakura locked eyes with her target. 

“Okay, Sakura, I think… we can be done now?” Naruto felt a little panicked-- they had been sparring for hours already, and he was supposed to save Kurama’s chakra for a mission we was assigned to later this week. He also didn’t want to break any limbs.

“I don’t think so!” said Sakura, smirking. She had been having too much fun since Naruto asked her to come train with him. It had been a long time since she was able to use her full unleashed strength on someone, and she didn’t know until they started how long she had been itching to use it. 

She rushed toward Naruto and he dodged her deadly fist, and though she didn’t actually touch him, the air in between her hand and his shirt shredded the fabric. He retaliated while they were still high up off the ground, and they exchanged punches and kicks in a flurry until Sakura was suddenly knocked down by a kick to the shoulder. Her body created a little crater in the dirt but she stood up immediately, ready for more. 

Neither of them showed any signs of tiring out, and eventually they decided it was enough. Their field was pretty much destroyed; there were no intact trees or boulders in the area, and the ground was completely pulverized. The cloudless sky had begun to shift into a soft orange hue around the horizon, and the two friends were covered in dirt and sweat.

“We should do this again soon, Sakura! I need the taijutsu practice,” said Naruto with his childlike, toothy grin. 

“Yeah, if you can handle it,” Sakura teased, lightly punching him in the shoulder. For a moment it felt like she was back in her genin days, spending seemingly endless amounts of time training. Even then it hadn’t felt like it was enough-- Naruto had learned to control the Nine-Tail’s chakra and Sasuke developed the usage of the legendary Uchiha sharingan. 

But she had found herself eventually, under Tsunade’s teachings, to be a strong woman who could hold her own against any situation she faced. As she sat beside Naruto, she felt like his equal-- a friend who could challenge him but also learn from him. She still didn’t feel that way about Sasuke, however, no matter how far she got in her training. 

Sasuke on a different type of pedestal in Sakura’s mind, one of admiration and affection that she had never felt for anyone else, and she had always wondered what kind of place she had in his life. Was it the same? Would trying to work her way into every part of his life, like she was planning on today, create even close to the kind of effect he had on her? 

Huffing at a strand of hair on her face, Sakura stood up and patted some of the dirt off her clothes. After waving a quick goodbye to Naruto, she started to head home to shower so she could take the flowers to Sasuke’s mother. 

Sakura admired the beginnings of the sunset as she walked out of the tree line of the training fields. Realizing the time, she quickly took to jumping around roofs to get home faster, enjoying the air rushing through her sweaty hair. She landed straight onto the little balcony by her bedroom window and slid through the door. 

“Tadaima! I’m going to shower and head out again!” Sakura called down the stairs. She peeled off her clothes and stepped into her bathroom. The water ran brown as all the dirt washed off her skin, but soon the air was filled with the fruity scent of her shampoo. When she was done, she wrapped a towel around herself and went to go put on the set of clothes she had set on her bed alongside the flowers. As she got dressed, her mother tapped on the door.

“Sakura, I want you to take this to Mikoto-san. I made some daifuku,” said Mebuki, cracking the door open. She was holding a red plastic container with the strawberry and anko-stuffed mochi balls.

“Mama, I’m still dressing!” said Sakura, quickly pulling her shirt over her head. “Can you put those in my purse please? I have to finish my makeup, or I’m going to be late…” She rushed around her room trying to find her favorite lipstick while her mother chuckled.

“Excited to see Sasuke-kun?” she teased. Sakura bristled.

“I’m just going to give his mother a birthday present. It’s perfectly normal to celebrate my teammate’s mother’s birthday,” said Sakura. Her mother was well aware of her crush on Sasuke, but she had no idea that they had been casually dating for several months already. 

“Alright, well don’t forget to take the daifuku. And tell the Uchihas hello for me,” said Mebuki, turning to shut the door on her way out.

Sakura carefully picked up the pink and white bouquet she graciously received from Ino and slung her bag over her shoulder before jumping down the balcony to avoid any more embarrassment from her mother. 

The sky was darkening quickly and Sakura would have regretted not going to drop off the flowers earlier, had she not been wanting to be invited to stay for dinner. Hopefully Sasuke would be back by then, or things would likely turn awkward. Sakura imagined eating in silence as Itachi and his parents stared at her and shuddered at the thought.

She turned around a corner and was met with the front gates of the head Uchiha household, a newer addition outside of the main Uchiha clan property at the side of the village. The tall black metal fence around the property would make it seem like a dungeon if the building wasn’t made of cute tan bricks. An Uchiha clan symbol was painted above the door, and there were rose bushes on each side of the entryway. Sakura stood outside the gates for a moment, collecting herself before deciding to finally unlatch the gate. Suddenly, she was startled by a voice right behind her ear.

“What are you doing here?” asked Sasuke. Sakura whirled around and nearly dropped the flowers. He looked tired, like he had just gotten back from his mission no less than a couple hours ago.

“Sasuke-kun! How was your mission? I’m- I just came to give your mother something because I heard it was her birthday,” feeling embarrassed.

“It was fine, I just got back… were you just going to drop those off?” Sasuke stared at the flowers, edges slightly starting to wilt. Sakura nodded. “Well, I guess you could just come in with me then,” said Sasuke, opening the gate ahead of her. Sakura hurried behind him and spotted a bruise taking up much of the side of his right calf. 

“Sasuke,” she called out, causing him to stop and look back at her, “I could heal that bruise on your leg if you want. So that your mother wouldn’t get worried. She might not want to see her son injured on her birthday, you know?” Sasuke stared at her blankly for a moment, considering. 

“Okay.” Sakura walked up to where he was standing by the few steps in front of the door and reached down to place her hand over the large bruise. It was already turning dark purple though it couldn’t have been more than a day old. A soft green glow surrounded her hand and she began healing the bruise with a concentrated expression. 

Though she had seen Sasuke get injured many times before, Sakura still hated seeing him in any pain. Every little bump and scratch she saw on him had to be healed or she wouldn’t feel satisfied. After most of the color had faded away, they heard the front door open.

“Sasuke, you’re back later than I-- what are you two doing?” asked Itachi, seeing Sakura on the ground beside Sasuke, obscured by a rosebush. His eyes widened a little.

“She’s just finishing healing my leg, Itachi. Let’s go inside,” Sasuke said, jerking her up by the elbow. Sakura followed him through the door past Itachi and timidly said a “hello” to the older Uchiha brother.

The dining area was just left of the entrance, and the table was already set with plates and dishes of rice, miso soup, salad, and sautéed fish. Sakura’s face fell a little when she saw that it was set for four. ‘Of course there are only four places… this is a family dinner, stupid.’

“Sakura-chan! Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you!” said Mikoto, approaching Sakura with a warm smile. She was dressed for her birthday in a knee-length white dress with a blue floral pattern. Sakura handed her the two gifts and Mikoto graciously accepted, placing the flowers in a vase and setting the daifuku aside for dessert. Sasuke and Itachi’s father, Fugaku, then walked into the foyer.

“My dear, look who’s come to say hello!” said Mikoto. The police chief gave a tight smile but otherwise greeted Sakura warmly.

“Sakura-chan, it’s nice of you to visit. We were just preparing for dinner; you should stay an eat with us. I’m sure Itachi can set another place for you,” he said, looking at his elder son to prepare the table.

“Oh, no, this is a family event, I wouldn’t want to intrude, Fugaku-sama,” said Sakura.

“Please, Sakura-chan, I insist,” said Fugaku.

A few moments later, Sakura found herself squeezed into a corner of the square wooden table in between Sasuke and Itachi. The room was mostly quiet except for the passing around of food and the poking of chopsticks. Fugaku cleared his throat and began to speak.

“How is your work going at the hospital nowadays?” he asked Sakura. She struggled to swallow the food that she was chewing, nervous to answer his question. Maintaining a good reputation in Fugaku’s eyes had been important to Sakura recently, as she waited for the time when her relationship with Sasuke was made “official” and she would have to face the scrutiny of his family.

“It’s going very well, Fugaku-sama; I’m spending more time in the hospital now that Tsunade-sama has given me more roles to play on her team. I’m enjoying my medical jutsu practice,” said Sakura, trying to sound chipper. 

“That’s good; I’m glad to see you’re progressing in your career. I’m sure you’re aware that Sasuke is studying to take the Jonin exams as well,” said Fugaku. He took a sip of his tea.

“Yes, I can see that he’s working hard,” said Sakura, looking admirably at Sasuke. He avoided eye contact with her and took another bite of food. 

“Now that’s enough of the serious talk, dear. You don’t want to scare the poor girl away!” said Mikoto gently. Sakura smiled gratefully at her, only to have it wiped away not a moment later. “How is it that a beautiful and accomplished girl like you doesn’t have any boys following you around like puppies? I hope your teammates aren’t scaring them away, Sakura-chan,” questioned Mikoto. Sakura froze for a second, trying hard to avoid eye contact with Sasuke. She didn’t want his parents to see them exchange a glance at this question… but she also didn’t want to see Sasuke with a completely uninterested facade at the topic. 

“Well, for now I want to focus on my goals; I still have a lot to do before I can divide my attention anywhere else. And my teammates support my decisions,” said Sakura.

“Kaa-san, are you really going to talk about this now? I’m sure the conversation could go anywhere else…” Sasuke interrupted, surprising Sakura.

“When we were about your age we were already married”, said Fugaku, ignoring his son’s annoyance. Sakura didn’t respond and Sasuke went back to playing around with his food. Itachi decided to break the brief silence.

“Times have changed though, haven’t they father?” questioned Itachi. “Young people nowadays mostly focus on their career.” Fugaku reacted to him without missing a beat.  
“A good family is always the foundation for a good life-- never forget that. It is your duty to your family, to your clan, to find a partner that fits into your life.” No one had anything to say for a while after that, until idle chat resumed a few minutes later.

The evening ended with Mikoto blowing out a candle stuck to one of the daifuku that Sakura brought. There was no song, but the family seemed cheerful. 

Sakura politely excused herself after they finished dessert, thanking the Uchihas for allowing her to stay for dinner. Mikoto happily invited her to come visit again soon and Sakura politely promised she would. 

When she walked out of the foyer, Sasuke followed her out the door and shut it behind him. He leaned against the door and put up a leg as he stared up at the sky. Clearly she was supposed to initiate the conversation.

“So you said the mission went well… was it just you?” asked Sakura. He nodded.

“Kakashi’s finally decided that he can trust me with an A-rank on my own.” Sakura’s eyes widened a little.

“Well I’m glad you succeeded. Naruto will probably be jealous that you’re both getting A-ranks, since he was bragging about it so much before.” She looked back at the house and could have sworn she saw someone quickly move away from the window. “I guess I should head home now… I have a long shift tomorrow so I might not see you,” she said disappointedly, more upset about not seeing Sasuke than the long shift.

“I’ll come see you later tonight then,” Sasuke stated. 

“Okay, don’t be too late though. I’ll leave the window cracked open.” 

●●●●●●

Sakura’s chest fluttered as she stood in her closet, debating what she should wear. Something fancy would probably be overboard, but she still wanted to look good. Her clothes were scattered around the closet as she searched for something appropriate. 

In the end, she chose a spaghetti-strapped white nightgown that went down to her knees and a pair of red thongs that she hated wearing but knew Sasuke liked. She combed through her hair to make it smooth and then climbed into bed to wait, facing the window. 

Her hand fiddled with the soft fabric of her dress while the other laid tucked under her pillow. Just thinking about his arrival made her excited, and she didn’t know if she would even be able to wait for him much longer. 

Turning onto her back, she looked over to see if her door was locked and then threw the covers off. When she saw that Sasuke still hadn’t appeared on the balcony, she slowly slipped a hand into the top of her dress, lightly running over her clavicle. 

Her eyes shut and she imagined Sasuke was already there, caressing her. His mouth would go down to her neck and his hands would wander farther down, exploring every inch of her skin. She imagined that he would run a finger over her red lace and feel how much she wanted him. 

“Mm, Sasuke,” whispered Sakura, slipping her arm back out of her dress. She pulled up the hem just enough for her right hand to reach the red lace again while her left hand squeezed one of her breasts. One of her fingers slipped inside through the side of the thong and she quickly made it two, trying to match the feeling of the one she wanted most. Her breath became harsh as she started to move more quickly, frantic for release.

“Sakura.”

The voice startled her and she quickly moved the blanket over herself. She could feel her heart beat in her ears when she saw Sasuke standing on the other side of her room. Words failed her due to her embarrassment at being seen. She covered her face with her hands.

“I had to help clean up. You should have waited for me though,” he said, making his way to the edge of her bed. He sat down beside Sakura and moved her hands out of the way. 

“I guess you’ll have to help me catch up then,” Sasuke smirked as he pulled away the blanket and pulled off his shirt. He rolled over to the other side of the bed and pulled her with him until he was on his back with her straddling his lap. 

Sakura leaned down to kiss him while he pulled off her gown, leaving her almost completely naked. She pulled off the rest of his clothes as well, wanting to have as much skin- to- skin contact as possible. Sasuke moved like he was going to switch their positions, but she resisted, wanting to stay on top for once. He allowed her to stay but kept his possessive grip on her hips, his way of keeping some form of control.

Seeing Sasuke underneath her gave her a new sense of energy, and she raised her body a little to hover over his fully erect form. She slowly inched her way down and moaned quietly as she felt him fill up all the space she had. 

Her hips rocked back and forth instead of up and down to avoid making noise since her parents could possibly still be awake. She couldn’t hold back all of her moans though, and Sasuke enjoyed the sound of her being pleasured by him. However, he wasn’t feeling enough friction for his liking. 

Not wanting to succumb to her control any longer, he flipped their bodies over without leaving her. His sexual frustration was pent up, and he needed to release the tension building in his groin.

He started a rough, fast rhythm, slapping against her skin and holding her down by the waist. Sakura’s hands fisted his hair, causing him to slow down a bit but move deeper. He let out a groan and twitched inside of her, indicating that he was close. Not wanting to be left behind, Sakura reached down and starting circling her clit with her fingers, but Sasuke was too far gone and he spilled into her.

Almost immediately he removed himself from her and flopped onto the space beside her. He kissed her cheek gently.

“You finished too, right?” he asked, “I couldn’t tell. You felt amazing, Sakura.” His words cut through her. He didn’t even know, or care enough to ask in the middle of things.

“Yeah, it was good for me too,” she lied, feeling a desire for him to leave already. “I have to get up early tomorrow, Sasuke- kun,” she reminded him.

“Okay, I’ll go then. Goodnight Sakura,” he said. They shared a short kiss goodbye and he quickly put his clothes back on before leaping off the balcony. The room felt colder.

Once he had gone, Sakura allowed the tears that pricked her eyes to flow freely. She was indescribably frustrated.

‘I try so fucking hard,’ she thought, ‘but none of that even matters. He doesn’t respond to anything the way I want him to.’ But did she care enough to try and end things with him? 

Sakura had spent so much time wanting this, and they were still a relatively new couple anyways, considering how long she had waited for him. Maybe, she thought, she should just enjoy the fruits of her labor, even if they were a little sour. 

Sakura had never even once finished before Sasuke, and certainly not without his or her hands. She hadn’t been able to feel what it was like to finish while their bodies were still intimately connected. That was what she physically yearned for the most. There was always some kind of disconnect, and most of the time it was Sasuke’s lack of attention towards her needs until he was satisfied first. Anything that came after that was an obligation, not something done out of pure affection. And Sakura hated that. 

She hated that she was the only one ever trying to make their relationship work. The efforts that Sasuke made in making her happy were merely placative. But what alternative did she have? To be alone? 

That was the last thing she wanted at this point, when she had everything she ever dreamed of as a little girl— she was a respected medical shinobi, and she had Sasuke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter was a little short! The next one will be longer and big things will start happening! (As always, thank you so much for your comments/encouragement! Every little bit means a lot to me.)


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took so long to write but here it is!!! Don't think I abandoned this fic guys ;) there's plenty more left! As always, thank you for reading and commenting; it means the world to me!
> 
> (note: refer to Naruto Shippuuden episode where Sakura heals Kankuro to get a better visual for her procedure with Tsunade in the beginning… not important but look it up if you’re interested, it’s super badass medical jutsu!)

Never had sitting on a bench been more comfortable in Sakura’s life… or at least in the past 14 hours of her shift. The last couple hours of that was spent assisting Tsunade-sama with a single procedure, which had drained Sakura’s energy to the point where she could probably fall asleep if she closed her eyes for more than a few seconds.

The patient was an older woman with memory problems, and she had accidentally swallowed a chemical that had taken ages for Sakura and Tsunade to remove from her system. They had to alternate as one prepared the absorbing solution and the other worked to remove every drop of toxin that they could from the woman’s internal organs. 

They had to maintain a high level of concentration to be able to work without physically performing surgery on the patient, especially because of her age. Even though they weren’t moving that much, the two were sweating and exhausted by the end of the procedure.

It was strange how well Sakura fared in active enemy combat, but assisting in a surgery could drain her so much. Maybe it was the hours she had spent last night thinking about Sasuke. It wasn’t really that unusual for her, except lately those thoughts were less and less positive. She desperately wanted to change that, to find some aspect of their relationship that she could latch onto in order to keep some semblance of hope that everything was fine… Everything was fine.

Nothing had actually changed, but Sakura was feeling more and more unsatisfied. ‘What’s wrong with me? I have nothing to worry about…’ she thought.

She couldn’t expect Sasuke to mold into some perfect Boyfriend 2.0 that would do whatever she wanted. He was human, and so was she. There were some aspects of her own personality that Sasuke probably had to “deal with” for the sake of their relationship. Especially her clinginess, which he had commented on multiple times. 

Looking down to her right, Sakura saw that the rush of staff moving from one operating room to another had finally cleared from the hall. Straining against her fatigue, she raised herself from the bench and made her way to the locker rooms to change. She left the hospital after checking on the old woman one more time.

Sakura’s feet automatically carried her in the direction of her home; her mind couldn’t occupy more than one thought at a time. Maybe, she contemplated, she should finally get around to telling her parents— no, her mother, about her relationship with Sasuke. Mebuki would hopefully be much more understanding, but even then it was risky. 

The house was quiet when Sakura arrived. Mebuki was sitting on the sofa, curled up under a thin green blanket and holding one of her old novels. 

“Mama, I’m home,” said Sakura as she placed her shoes by the door.

“Welcome back,” said Mebuki quietly. She gave her daughter a tired smile.

“What’s wrong?” asked Sakura, walking over to the couch. She sat down next to her mother and immediately put her hand on her forehead. It was warm.

“Just a little cold, dear, I’m fine. Will you make a pot of matcha tea?” 

“Of course, mama,” said Sakura. She rearranged her mother’s blanket and headed towards the kitchen. As she prepared the tea, she tried to gather enough courage to speak to her mother. Her mind was buzzing with a number of reactions she might recieve, most of which involved shock, anger, and betrayal. Sakura felt like the kettle that was slowly building up pressure inside its metal chamber.

She watched silently while her mother sipped on the cup of tea and let out a content sigh.

“It always tastes better when you make it, Sakura,” she praised.

“Are you and Papa proud of me?” asked Sakura suddenly. Her eyes stayed locked to the cup that was a little too warm for her hands, but she didn’t move. Her mother set her own tea down on the table.

“Where does this come from? Of course we’re proud of you. You’re more than we could have ever hoped for in a daughter,” said Mebuki.

“What if… what if I told you something that might change your mind? I never wanted to disappoint you but this has been going on too long, I think, to keep it from you anymore. It keeps getting harder and harder to hide it, so I have to tell you soon anyways. I figured now would be the time to do it… But promise me you won’t tell Papa.” Sakura’s words came out in an anxious flurry, all in one breath. Her mother held a concerned and guarded expression.

“Is something going on at the hospital, Sakura? Is there some sort of workplace issue I should know about?” she asked worriedly.

“No, no… everything’s great at the hospital. I’ve been handling my new position pretty well. This is, um, a personal thing.” Sakura took a deep breath before continuing, “Well, for the past few months, I’ve had a… relationship… with someone. Someone we’ve known for a long time.” She stopped there, peeking at her mother for some sort of reaction.

“You’ve finally started dating Lee! Oh, that boy adores you, Sakura! I knew you would give him a chance!” Her mother lit up with excitement.  
“How many times do I have to say I only see him as a friend?! Why does nobody ever… anyways, it’s not him. It’s Sasuke, Mama. He’s my boyfriend now,” admitted Sakura. It occurred to her for a moment that they hadn’t officially decided on a label for their relationship, but this was what Sakura felt was most accurate. Her face started to heat up, amplified by the steam coming from her cup, as she waited for her mother’s reaction. 

“And how do you feel about Sasuke exactly? I ask because, well, he doesn’t seem like a very affectionate man and I don’t really see that fitting in with your personality. I want you to be happy, Sakura,” she said. 

“I am happy! I’m very happy,” Sakura said, giving a voice to the words she had endlessly repeated to herself in her mind. “I love him.”

“Oh, Sakura,” said Mebuki, scooting closer to her daughter and giving her a light hug. “As long as you’re happy, so am I.”

The rest of Sakura’s day was spent upstairs in her bedroom. She spent some time rearranging her closet and reading from her massive collection of medical textbooks, always wanting to keep knowledge fresh in her mind. Her bed was covered in books and and a rainbow of sticky notes. Eventually after tiring from all of the jumbled words and diagrams, she abandoned her books and sat beside her window to gaze down at the quiet street below. The outside air was warm and a little humid. Soon the comforting smell of trees and green wafted through the breeze and lulled Sakura to sleep.

-

Sasuke’s head weighed down on her shoulder uncomfortably and the tree bark on her back was probably leaving dents, but she didn’t dare move a millimeter. Instead she gently laid her head on top of his, a smile stretching onto her lips. The two rested in the shadows around a small meadow, a gap in the seemingly endless forests surrounding Konoha. There was a small picnic blanket and an empty basket spread in front of them. 

Sakura glanced over at her cell phone lying beside them in the grass and felt the urge to take a picture of this moment. As slowly as she could, she reached over to grab it and open the camera. Her arm moved back and forth in front of them, trying to find the best angle to catch the precious sleeping Sasuke.

“I will break that phone if I hear the camera click,” said Sasuke, keeping his eyes closed. He couldn’t help but smirk for just a second at her sneaky attempt.

“I thought you were asleep,” said Sakura, sheepishly setting the phone back down.

“Why do you need a photo? Isn’t it nice for the two of us to just be here?” asked Sasuke. He finally sat up and turned to face Sakura. She swept away the hair that was starting to grow down into his eyes.

“It is,” she said. “We just don’t get to do this very often, Sasuke. I wanted to keep the photo for later.”

“I’m sure you’ll still remember. You know I don’t like being in photos,” said Sasuke. He pulled her forward so that she was straddling his lap. “Let’s just be here. I want this time to be ours, no one else’s.” 

Sakura’s chest fluttered at his words. This was why she loved him. She pulled him close so there was no space between them and kissed him. They held each other tightly as their lips caressed each other in a desperate dance.

-

Sakura awoke to the sound of yelling downstairs. She was grasping a pillow, still curled up by the window that was now letting in a chilled breeze. The pillow was too small, not as warm as the memory that she had just briefly relived. She wanted to be with that Sasuke, the one that used to be softer, still afraid that he might do something wrong and lose her. Again she heard voices downstairs. Her parents were arguing about something.

She stood up to shut the window and glanced at the time— it was almost midnight. Sakura lightly tiptoed out of her room, where the warm yellow light filtered up the stairs from the kitchen. Crouching at the top of the stairs, she stopped to listen to what her parents were arguing about. 

“I just think it’s for the best, Mebuki. You know how things are. This would be for everyone’s good…” said Kizashi. 

“How do you even bring that up to her? It’s just so sudden.” 

“We should just tell her. There’s no point in waiting. She might even be excited by the news! You never know.” Kizashi defended his point in the blunt manner he always used. 

“I’m not sure about that… Maybe you should discuss this with them more.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Kizashi. Sakura heard her mother exhale loudly in frustration.

“It’s just that she’s still so young to be thinking about marriage. That’s probably one of the least of her priorities right now, even if she were excited by it. I just don’t think that’s where her mind is at right now.” Marriage? Marriage? Who the hell was talking about marriage? With Sasuke? Her parents must have gone insane. There’s no way he would agree with that, nor his parents. And how did they even find out that they were dating? Did someone see them? Her parents must have thought that the only reason they were together was because they planned on getting married someday. Sakura stared blankly at her knees, barely processing the rest of what her parents were saying. 

“But you’re the one always talking about how grown up our girl is. Of course she’s still got some growing to do, but so does everyone. That never goes away,” said Kizashi. Unable to argue anymore, Mebuki was silent. “I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow, then. We don’t want to wait to long to start planning for the wedding. Not to mention the engagement ceremony!” 

Sakura silently bolted back to her room when she heard her father walk out of the kitchen. She shut the door behind her and froze into a solid block of confusion and anger. Her arms twitched, itching to obliterate anything that they could touch. 

In a moment of self control, and pity for whoever would have to clean up the mess, Sakura left her room through the window. In order to stop herself from crashing through the walls and demanding an explanation from her father, she leaped across the slightly lopsided rooftops in her neighborhood until she reached the comfort of the woods. 

Under the cover of the dense leaves, she slowed down significantly and a while later stopped to sit in the fork of a branch high off the ground. She could barely make out the outline of the foliage below her, though the sky was not as dark as normal. 

Surrounded by trees and at least a half mile away from another person, she started to let her anger out. Her fist clenched and she let power surge through her muscles, not wanting to restrain herself anymore. 

Sakura reached above her and wrapped her hand around a branch that was too thick to reach all the way around. With just a little effort she tore off the branch, which emitted a loud cracking sound like lightning. Sakura screamed in frustration and hurdled it towards the ground as if it were a harpoon, leaving it sticking straight up out of the dirt. Unable to hold back, she started destroying all of the trees around her, chakra rushing out of her body like she was fighting in a battle. She tried to let herself feel some kind of control in being able to do what she wanted with her surroundings, but nothing could comfort her. The prospect of being forced into a marriage at this age, at this important point in her career, was ludicrous. She did love Sasuke, but marriage was a whole other matter. 

Marriage was the opposite of freedom. She knew what would happen to her if she was forced to become a wife, forced to give up part of the career that she had worked so hard for. She would be stuck as an assistant, a part-time nobody who spent more time on housework than healing the injured.

With every blow of her fist she created splintery craters in the huge trees. She decided not to care if someone could hear her— these sort of things happened in the village on occasion, so no one would probably be immediately concerned. When she had cleared a pretty large area of the trees, she slumped onto the ground, covered in dirt and bruises. 

Exhausted, she let her torso fall over her knees to stare at the ground. Above her head, she heard a small cracking sound come from a branch on the nearest tree. Figuring she was out of the way, she remained in her spot, still breathing heavily with anger. 

Not a moment later, she heard someone shouting above her and another crack, louder this time. She looked up and saw someone leap down towards her and she barely had time to react before her breath was knocked out of her. She swiftly grabbed the person’s arm and swung them over her shoulder, causing them to crash several feet in front of her. As soon as she stood up, she saw a branch fall towards the ground and she narrowly dodged the smaller branches that stuck out of its side like claws. Realizing that she would have gotten crushed if she hadn’t been pushed, she looked over to the slowly clearing haze of dirt surrounding the person she just threw. 

“I’m so sorry!” she yelled at the person. She started walking over to make sure they were okay. “I didn’t notice where that branch was… Thank you,” she said. The figure stood up and brushed himself off. 

“At least you’re safe now, Sakura.” It was Itachi’s voice. Sakura started to apologize again after realizing who it was, but he waved a dismissal at her apology.

“I wanted to talk to you. I overheard our parents talking about something earlier today,” he said.

“Yeah, I heard.” Sakura’s response was curt. 

“Oh, I see. Are you okay? I wasn’t sure if you would want me to come talk to you or not since it seemed very… shocking.”

Sakura didn’t respond.

“Of course I won’t force you to do anything, but if it’s what our parents want, then I would do it. I hope you understand why. I don’t want there to be any hard feelings. This is a very complicated situation,” he trailed off a bit, not knowing how else to explain.

“Huh? It’s not really up to you. It’s our parents who decided this bullshit.” Sakura’s voice was seething. She stared at him with steel eyes.

“Yes, but this is mostly between you and me. And Sasuke… but I see their reasoning behind it. I just don’t want you to be hurt and I don’t want to hurt Sasuke, but my father is a powerful man. Of course, there would still be a lot of time for everything to work out, you know. Start slow for a while with all the planning.” Itachi seemed to be trying hard to get her to lisen to him. Sakura furrowed her brows, confused.

“I don’t get how you’re involved in this, Itachi. I mean, yeah, you’re Sasuke’s brother, but you’re not the one getting married. And he’s younger than you! Why is he the first? This just doesn’t make any sense. We’re both just twenty years old, barely adults,” she said, her voice rising with anger. Itachi’s expression suddenly cleared.

“Sakura… I think you might have misheard. What did your parents tell you exactly?” he asked.

“I just overheard them talking about it when my dad came home. They thought I was asleep, but I heard enough and I left.”

“I don’t think you did, because our parents are proposing that our families join through a marriage between you and me. They don’t know about you and Sasuke being together.”

Sakura’s head started spinning. This was too much for one day. No, it’s not possible. This can’t be right.

“No! You’re wrong! Get away from me,” she yelled. She struck her fist into the ground and released a wave of boulder-sized chunks of earth into the air. Itachi jumped backwards to create distance— he didn’t want to retaliate, but he could easily get hurt by one of her outbursts. 

“I think we should talk about it, Sakura. Please calm down. I’m sure we can find some kind of compromise. I’m not in favor of this either, but what are we supposed to do?” asked Itachi. He sounded irritated himself, despite the fact that he actually seemed to go along with this outrageous idea.

“How dare you tell me to calm down right now?! I can’t believe you’re not even bothered by this!” accused Sakura, crushing a lump of dirt with her foot. It popped up in her mind once again just how ludicrous an arranged marriage was in this day and age. Her parents were not the supportive, free-spirited people she thought they were. Sakura was living some kind of old-fashioned nightmare. One that the powerful Uchihas were going to force upon her, no doubt. 

“Of course I’m shocked by this, but we have to consider the possibility that our parents, especially my father, will push this onto us. There’s a lot of political motivation behind it. Will you at least listen to me for a moment? You don’t have to agree with me, just hear why I think this is happening,” pleaded Itachi. 

“Maybe we can find a way out of this, Itachi. Explain to me exactly what’s happening… I think we can convince them,” said Sakura.

“My father told me about how important it is that, since I’ll be taking over as chief, I need to be seen by the village as a stable, important figure in Konoha. He says that having the beginnings of my own family is powerful… and spreading outside of the clan will show that the Uchihas won’t isolate themselves from Konoha anymore.” 

“But why me? Couldn’t he have picked some other girl for you? I’m sure there are plenty of others more appropriate that your father could have chosen.” Itachi ran his hand through his hair, exasperated. Fugaku had been showing an interest in Sakura’s life for a while now, and he finally understood today why he had been so invested. This idea wasn’t new for his father, or for anyone else he had talked to about it.

“I think he’s been planning this for a while. Haven’t you noticed how he always wants to know what’s going on in your life? He hadn’t shown much interest until recently, even though he doesn’t know about you and Sasuke. I assumed that maybe he was onto you, but now I see that I was completely wrong,” Itachi said frustratedly. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that he might have suspected something about Sasuke and I? Things could have been different if we had just told him about us!” Sakura’s frustration just kept rising despite Itachi’s explanations. Nothing made sense. There was no reason behind any of his words. All she wanted right now was Sasuke. 

“I need to go, Itachi. I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” said Sakura. Nothing else could comfort her now except Sasuke’s embrace, his voice.

“I want to fix this, but what can I do? What else is left?” Itachi asked. 

“What’s left is nothing, Itachi. Just get away from me, I can’t even look at you right now. I need to see Sasuke.” She avoided eye contact with him, choosing to stare at the ground instead. 

“I’ll tell him you’re here, then. I’m sorry about all of this. We’ll figure it out. I promise.” Itachi backed away from her, having made the situation worse than he had hoped. In less than a second, he was gone, and she was left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think Sasuke's reaction will be?? Let me know in the comments!


End file.
